If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

You should try some of those electronic cigarettes, maybe you can ween off your addiction that way. They have nicotine but are essentially water vapor I believe. Definitely the lesser of two evils when compared to cigarettes.

i just ordered ayurvedic cigarettes and i even think i will try to stop completely even without them.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

KonchokZoepa wrote:i just ordered ayurvedic cigarettes and i even think i will try to stop completely even without them.

The key weapon I used to quit was this: I reflected on the craving I felt and thought, "If I give in to this craving now, I am going to continue to experience cravings for the rest of my life. If I just don't act on it, it will get better." The physical cravings are at their strongest for only three days. After that it gets much easier. After about 2 weeks you are really in the clear as long as you don't hang around people or situations you always used to smoke in. And really, once you get your sense of smell and taste back and realize how deadened you were to your senses from cigarettes it becomes *really* easy to keep going.

Good luck! I am *so* glad I broke free of that. It's a fight worth fighting.

have you read about the termas that state that you will go to hell or lower realms because of smoking, are you afraid of this or do you think its something conquerable and not so solid fact?

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

KonchokZoepa wrote:have you read about the termas that state that you will go to hell or lower realms because of smoking, are you afraid of this or do you think its something conquerable and not so solid fact?

I felt it definitely was negative for my health, and of course I was aware of Dudjom Rinpoche's statement on the effects of tobacco. My main impetus was that I just felt better without the constant craving, I hated the way my house and clothes smelled and it was ridiculously expensive (around $7.00/pack when I quit). I am pretty sure that it does in fact sow the seeds of negative rebirth, as strong craving is not conducive to positive states of mind.

KonchokZoepa wrote:have you read about the termas that state that you will go to hell or lower realms because of smoking, are you afraid of this or do you think its something conquerable and not so solid fact?

I felt it definitely was negative for my health, and of course I was aware of Dudjom Rinpoche's statement on the effects of tobacco.

On the other hand, the idea that tobacco springs from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness is a little silly since tobacco never existed in the old world until it was brought back from the new world by Europeans.

That being said, tobacco is pernicious if only for the fact that it takes up polonium 210 from the soil, rendering its smoke toxically radioactive, which is why for example, tobacco causes cancer but weed does not.

Malcolm wrote:On the other hand, the idea that tobacco springs from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness is a little silly since tobacco never existed in the old world until it was brought back from the new world by Europeans.

That being said, tobacco is pernicious if only for the fact that it takes up polonium 210 from the soil, rendering its smoke toxically radioactive, which is why for example, tobacco causes cancer but weed does not.

Are you saying that evil demonesses do not live in the New World, or simply that they don't menstruate?

Malcolm wrote:On the other hand, the idea that tobacco springs from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness is a little silly since tobacco never existed in the old world until it was brought back from the new world by Europeans.

That being said, tobacco is pernicious if only for the fact that it takes up polonium 210 from the soil, rendering its smoke toxically radioactive, which is why for example, tobacco causes cancer but weed does not.

Are you saying that evil demonesses do not live in the New World, or simply that they don't menstruate?

I am saying that the author of that terma clearly had no idea where tobacco came from originally.

interesting, but do you think that if you have smoked tobacco you will without a choice go to the lower realms because of smoking.

an interesting thing happened two days ago, i was smoking outside in the evening, it was already dark and a spirit attacked me. first it was wind somewhere then suddenly it flew over me and also like it was running keeping a distance from me though and i heard a weird voice not at all loud almost like silence, and my body got tremendous fear and started shaking.

and is it possible to purify the karma of smoking cigarettes by practice ?

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

well, its what the termas say. or what the Dudjom Rinpoche's quotes from the termas say.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Malcolm wrote:On the other hand, the idea that tobacco springs from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness is a little silly since tobacco never existed in the old world until it was brought back from the new world by Europeans.

That being said, tobacco is pernicious if only for the fact that it takes up polonium 210 from the soil, rendering its smoke toxically radioactive, which is why for example, tobacco causes cancer but weed does not.

Is it possible to read the text with the understanding that tobacco sprang from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness... without reference to geography or ethnobotany? That is, did the terton really need to specify that tobacco is a North American noxious weed for his text to have value?

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does anyone know if the ayurvedic herbal smokes close to crown chakra?, rendering phowa ineffective..

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

Malcolm wrote:On the other hand, the idea that tobacco springs from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness is a little silly since tobacco never existed in the old world until it was brought back from the new world by Europeans.

That being said, tobacco is pernicious if only for the fact that it takes up polonium 210 from the soil, rendering its smoke toxically radioactive, which is why for example, tobacco causes cancer but weed does not.

Is it possible to read the text with the understanding that tobacco sprang from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness... without reference to geography or ethnobotany? That is, did the terton really need to specify that tobacco is a North American noxious weed for his text to have value?

In 19th century Tibet, no. In 21st century America, yes. Moreover, tobacco, like any plant, has medicinal as well as other uses. To characterize it as a weed is wrong. A plant is only a weed when it is not wanted or not understood.

Jikan wrote:Is it possible to read the text with the understanding that tobacco sprang from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness... without reference to geography or ethnobotany? That is, did the terton really need to specify that tobacco is a North American noxious weed for his text to have value?

In 19th century Tibet, no. In 21st century America, yes. Moreover, tobacco, like any plant, has medicinal as well as other uses. To characterize it as a weed is wrong. A plant is only a weed when it is not wanted or not understood.

Fair enough, but I think it's OK for me to refer to it as a weed by your definition because it springs up, unwanted, in my garden--and as noxious because the tomato bushes and other nightshades I do want don't like it.

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Jikan wrote:Is it possible to read the text with the understanding that tobacco sprang from the menstrual blood of an evil demoness... without reference to geography or ethnobotany? That is, did the terton really need to specify that tobacco is a North American noxious weed for his text to have value?

In 19th century Tibet, no. In 21st century America, yes. Moreover, tobacco, like any plant, has medicinal as well as other uses. To characterize it as a weed is wrong. A plant is only a weed when it is not wanted or not understood.

Fair enough, but I think it's OK for me to refer to it as a weed by your definition because it springs up, unwanted, in my garden--and as noxious because the tomato bushes and other nightshades I do want don't like it.

Why should we privilege 21st century narratives over any other? Demons and menstrual blood speak to me in ways that ethnobotany never will.